A tried and true recipe from Mrs. Apsey! Deliciousness guaranteed! The key to this recipe is letting the meat sit in a brine with a pickling spice to tenderize the meat. It gets its name "corn" from an old English word for grain, or small pieces of hard things the size of grain, such as salt. After sitting in the brine for a few days, the brisket is then cooked low and slow until fall apart tender. While the recipe does call for a bit of prep work, both the brine and cooking steps do not require any hands-on work.
INGREDIENTS:
- 4-6 lb brisket
- 1 carrot, onion, and celery
- 8 C water
- 1 C Kosher salt
- 1/2 C brown sugar (or honey)
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1/2 t ground ginger
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 t mustard seed
- 8 all spice berries
- 1 t peppercorns
- 2 lbs ice
DIRECTIONS:
- Add water, salt, and brown sugar (or honey) to a large pot and boil until salt and sugar dissolve. Add remaining spices and let cool for a few minutes. Then add ice to ensure it fully cools.
- Add brisket and brine in a sealed ziploc bag. Place in large flat container and leave in the fridge for 7-10 days, flipping over every few days. After 7-10 days, remove and lightly rinse off the meat and discard the brine.
- In a large pot, add diced carrot, diced onion, and diced celery. Place meat on top of veggies, fill with water to cover meat.
- Cook on stovetop on high to bring to a boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook for 3 more hours, or until internal temperature reaches 155ºF.
- Let meat cool in the fridge, then slice and serve! This meat can also be smoked instead of simmered on stovetop.
TIPS:
- Recipe still works great for 2-3 lb brisket
- Just cut all ingredients listed above in half.
- Don't skimp on the brining time.
- The longer you brine the brisket, the more flavorful it will be.
- Use a meat thermometer to ensure the internal temperature is at 145°F.
- This will ensure that the meat is fully cooked and safe to eat.
- Let the brisket rest before slicing.
- This allows the juices to redistribute, making the meat juicier and easier to slice.
Our pleasure, Diane! Thanks so much for your kind words and support!
Good question. The ice is to cool down the water in Step 1 before adding the meat to brine.
THANK YOU for the recipe! I have never purchased store bought corned beef, nor made my own. I shall definitely try this recipe. One question……where does the ice come in to play? Thank you!
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